Minister for Tourism Hon. Faiyaz Koya today encouraged the nation’s hoteliers industry to share knowledge, experiences and appraise others in the latest trends, outlook and growth.
He made the comments while opening the 11th Hotels Exhibition Conference(HOTEC) at the Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa in Nadi today.
Organized after a lapse of four years, HOTEC aims to provide the platforms for closercollaboration among the hoteliers in providing excellence in service to tourist.
“I don’t need to remind you how important the tourism industry is to the Fijian economy. It is the largest foreign exchange earner, at approximately 33 percent of the GDP. The total income from the industry stands at around $1.32-billion,” he said.
“I raise with you today – a challenge! As leaders in the industry, you can contribute to the efforts of the Fijian Government to nurture and grow micro, small and medium enterprises and my challenge to you can be in the form of employment, skills attachments and internships, or, where possible, sourcing Fijian-made and Fijian-grown raw materials and integrating small business into your business value chain.”
HOTEC – Fiji’s largest hotel tradeshow – is where local and international companies come together to display various tourism products and services.
This year there are 30 exhibitors, of which 21 are local operators while four international companies are also represented.
Fiji Hotel and Tourism Association’s Mr Dixon Seeto said the exhibition conference provided a rare opportunity for the hoteliers to come together and share knowledge.
“It’s also an opportunity for the hotel operators and hotel-related activity providers to come together and share knowledge, experiences and appraise others in the latest trends, outlook and growth,” Mr Seeto said.
“At this year’s HOTEC, we encourage you to use the seminars to come up with key outcomes that the industry needs to continue to progress and ensure the delivery of quality services”.